I was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. I have lived in Paris, France and now live in College Park, Maryland near Washington, DC. I went to high school in uptown New Orleans which at that time had a number of great clubs where you could see the Meters or Professor Longhair play. I also grew up watching the Mardi Gras parades with the marching bands with their amazing drum sections. I also have great memories of the Jazz Festival beginning in the seventies. I still try to attend when I can and visit my friend Pancho who is the stage manager at the zydeco stage. When I first started really hearing music, I was in high school. It was rock music that first got my attention. Especially the electric guitar. Led Zeppelin, Derek and the Dominoes, and Santana were on the radio. I'd go to sock hops and dance in my chair.

         

I soon discovered the underlying element to the music I loved was the blues. I followed a friend of mine to Ole Miss where I spent my first year of college. Come Friday afternoon, I would be in the Mississippi Collection of the university library where there was a section devoted entirely to the blues. I taught myself the acoustic guitar using the resources there and by doing a lot of listening. Especially Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, Robert Johnson, and B.B. King. I left Ole Miss after one year and went to LSU which was closer to New Orleans. I gradually got better and better electric guitars. I played for a few years on some relics found in peoples' closets. But they had a jack and strings. I didn't play in my first real band until I was in graduate school. I had a Gibson Marauder then (which is not rated highly in the history of electric guitars but it stayed in tune). I discovered that being on stage was the biggest emotional thrill even if you only got paid in beer. Before I was in a band, nobody knew who I was. Then, all of sudden, I was BRSOC (Big Rock Star On Campus).

    

         
Since then, I have played guitar in bands in Louisiana, Maryland and the DC metro area. Right now, we have a band called Twelve to Midnight, made up of people I have played with for years plus my son on drums.

I have been writing songs since college. I believe in the Muse. She usually gives me half a song and makes me finish it. Sometimes she gives me the whole thing. Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I have been doing analog recording of my songs for years in basements and bathrooms. Now I am learning the art of digital recording with much help from my guru and mentor Harold Ray who has been doing it for years up in Charm City. He produced a couple of the tracks on this site.

    

         

My main instruments are a Gibson Les Paul Standard, a 1969 reissue Fender Stratocaster, and a Danelectro electric 12-string. My main instrument used for writing is an acoustic Yamaha FG-335E. The rest of the instrumentation is mostly virtual instruments controlled by a Kawaii K-1 digital synthesizer.

That is my musical life so far. I will continue to write and record as long as the Muse makes me.